Foundation garment



Oct. 24, 1961 M. LAGUZZI 3,005,460

FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed Jan. 4, 1960 Li a'ii y; 2

9% if ii: INVENTOR.

Mb?! L ef United States atent 3,005,460 FOUNDATION GARMENT Mario Laguzzi, New York, N.Y., assignor to Poirette Corsets, Inc., New York, N.Y. Filed Jan. 4, 1960, Ser. No. 413 4 Claims. (Cl. 128-554) This invention relates to a foundation garment and more particularly to such a foundation garment as a girdle or pantie girdle adapted for'womens wear. This application comprises an improvement over my copending application Serial No. 850,817, filed November 4, 1959, entitled Foundation Garment.

A primary object of this invention is the provision of an improved foundation garment of this character characterized by reinforcing means at the points normally susceptible to the greatest stress, such reinforcement being effected by the provision of suitable inserts at such sections of the garment and stitching of the inserts to the garment.

A further very important object of the invention is the provision of such a gar-ment wherein the stretch is normally one way, with the wales of the material extending in one direction, and wherein the inserts are so cut that the wales thereof and the consequent stretch extend in a direction angularly disposed relative to the direction of the extent of the wales of the main body portion of the garment.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of such a garment wherein the insert portions may be so cut that the relative angularity of the wales of the inserts and the wales of the main body portion may be varied in accordance with the degree of stress on the garment at the point of insertion, which, obviously, varies with the contour of the figure of the individual wearer.

It is pointed out that in the instant art it is of material importance that a garment of the kind herein disclosed shall be susceptible to manufacture with a minimum of difficulty and expense, and that the garment shall be constnlcted of as few parts as are necessaryto accomplish the desired results of shaping and holding the desired contours of the wearers figure. It is especially important that the garment have the necessary strength and reinforcements in those areas of greatest stress and strain during body motions of the wearer, and it is recognized that while those areas are substantially constant in different figures, the stress exerted on those areas varies widely with the physical contour of the wearers body, and that in some instances it is, herefore, necessary that greater strength be provided in the areas of maximum reinforcement than in others. It is further recognized that while normally a garment having only one way stretch in those areas is adequate for preserving the figure contours, in certain instances it is desirable that a two way stretch be afforded and that the relative resiliency of such a two way stretch should be varied in accordance with the relative contours of the figure of the wearer. It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide an insert adapted to be placed in an area of maximum stress, which may be individually cut so that the wales extend in a direction at an angle relative to the wales of the main body portion of the garment, and which, thus, afford a double thickness having a direction of maximum stretchability lying intermediate the direction of maximum stretchability of the main garment and the stretchability of a section wherein the wales extend at right angles to those of the main body portion.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a garment of this nature which may be manufactured from a minimum of parts and with a minimum of eifort and difliculty, which will at the same time provide adequate reinforcement for the normal figure, with additional reinforcement at points where such reinforcement is neces- Patented Oct. 24, 1961 sary, and wherein the direction of stretch of such reinforcement, and the consequent retentive pressure exerted may be varied in accordance with individual requirements.

Still other objects reside in the combinations of elements, arrangements of parts, and features of construction, all as will be more fully pointed out hereinafter and disclosed in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front perspective view of one form of garment embodying the instant inventive concept;

FIGURE 2 isv a fragmentary enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1, as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of FIGURE 1, as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows; and

FIGURE 4 is a modified view similar to FIGURE 3 showing a different direction of angularity of the wales of the insert relative to the wales of the main body portion of the garment.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

Having reference now to the drawing in detail, there is generally indicated at 10 a foundation garment constructed in accordance with the instant invention. Although the garment shown is a conventional girdle it is to be understood that the principles herein may be equally applicable to a pantie girdle or a one-piece foundation garment, if desired.

The girdle 10 is comprised of a front panel formed of two complementary sections 1.1 and 12 which may be con-. structed of any desired elastic or inelastic material. The sides ofthe sections 11 and 12 converge towards the lower portion of the garment, as indicated at 13 and 14, respectively, and are provided at their lower extremities with more sharply converging portions 15 and 16, which intersect at a center line. The panels are connected by reinforced lines of stitching 17. The opposite sides of the front of the garment comprise lower hip control panels 18 and 19, which are preferably comprised of elastic material, which may be of the two way stretch variety, but which preferably are of one way stretch only in a horizontal direction, that is with the wales extending vertically. The lower side panels are connected by suitable lines of stitching 21 and 22 to similar upper panels 23 and 24, the lines of stitching extending angularly upwardly from the front to the sides of the garment. The rear of the garment may be similarly constructed, with a central rear panel (not shown) of any desiredconventional configuration. The lower portions of sections 18 and 19 are connected by a continuation of the line of stitching 17, and are provided with suitable garter tabs 25.

Upper side panels 23 and 24 may also be constructed of two way stretch elastic material, or may be similarly constructed of one way stretch material, preferably with the direction of stretch extending in a horizontal direction.

In the previous application above mentioned, suitable reinforcement was provided along the lines of stitching 22 by the reversion of the end portions of the upper and lower panels, to provide a double thickness adjacent the lines of stitching, with the wales extending in angular relation to the wales of the main body portion. A difiiculty was encountered in that in order to conform the upper and lower panels it was necessary that the wales extend only in one direction of angularity relative to the main body portion. This objection has been overcome in the instant invention, as best shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 wherein the lower end of the upper panel 24 is provided with a relatively short upturned portion 26, between which and the main body portion there is provided a quadrangular piece of material 27 forming an insert. The piece 27 is secured by stitching 22 which extends through the reverted portion 26 and the end of the main body portion 24, and also through the insert 27. The upper portion of insert 27 as well as its end portions are suitably secured by stitching 28 to the main body of upper panel 24.

Similarly, the lower panel 19 has a reverted upper edge 29, which engages over the upper edge of an insert 30 similar to the previously described insert 28, and which is similarly stitched as at 31 to lower panel 19.

FIGURE 3 discloses a similar arrangement in connection with upper panel 23 and lower panel 18, wherein an upper insert 32 which corresponds to a mirror image of the insert 27 is provided and secured in position by the stitching 21 along its lower edge within a reverted end portion 32 of upper panel 23. Stitching 33 similarly holds the remainder of the insert 32 to the interior of panel 23.

A lower insert 34 which corresponds to the insert 30 is also provided and secured in position by the stitching 21 within a rever-ted edge 35 of lower panel 18, lines of stitching 36 being provided around the remainder of the perimeter of the insert.

The inserts 27, 30, 32 and 34 are all suitably cut on the bias, so that the wales thereof extend at a predetermined and desired angle relative to the wales of their corresponding body portion. In FIGURE 3 the angularity is shown as relatively great, or, approximately, 45 degrees, which provides a transitional stretch portion wherein the normal horizontal stretch of the body is modified to permit limited vertical stretch.

FIGURE 4 is a viewsimilar to FIGURE 3, wherein inserts 32A and 34A are substituted for the inserts 32 and 34, the other portions being identical. In this modification the angularity of the wales of the inserts 32A and 34A relative to the panels 23 and 18 is materially less than that in the previously described modification, being of approximately 30 degrees. In this modification, obviously, the vertical component of stretch is reduced, and will decline progressively as the wales of the inserts progress towards parallelism with the wales of the body portion. correspondingly, as the angularity of the wales of the inserts progresses towards an angle of 90 degrees relative to the wales of the panels or body portions, the vertical component of stretch will similarly increase.

The back of the garment is obviously similarly arranged with appropriate inserts, and preferably the angularity of all of the inserts of an individual garment will be identical.

From the foregoing it will now be seen that there is herein provided an improved foundation garment, which 4 accomplishes all of the objects of this invention, and others, including many advantages of great practical utility and commercial importance.

As many embodiments may be made of this inventive concept, and as many modifications may be made in the embodiment hereinbefore shown and described, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted merely as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In a foundation garment, the combination of front and rear panels, and elastic side panels secured between said front and rear panels, said side panels comprising upper and lower portions with confronting edges, said upper and lower portions having wales normally extending in a vertical direction to provide one-way stretch, the confronting edges of said upper and lower portions being disposedin angular relation to the vertical axis of the garment and elongated strip inserts secured along the confronting edges of said upper and lower portions adjacent their juncture, said inserts overlying the adjacent portions of said upper and lower portions, said inserts being comprised of the same elastic material as said elastic panels and having similar wales, the wales of said inserts extending in angular relation to the wales of said upper and lower portions to provide reinforcement having one-way stretch in a different direction from the one-way stretch of said upper and lower portions.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the adjacent edges of the upper and lower portions are reverted, and the eonfronting edges of the inserts are secured between the reverted edge and the main body of said portions.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said upper and lower portions are secured together by stitching which-extends through said reverted edges and through the adjacent edges of the respective inserts.

4. The structure of claim 3 wherein the remainder of the insert is stitched to its associated portion around the perimeter thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,304,812 Goldstein Dec. 15, 1942 2,816,291 Blatt Dec. 17, 1957 2,870,769 Scheinberg Jan. 27, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 791,449 Great Britain Mar. 5, 1958 

